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28DL Full Member

What can I say... I'm distraught at the state of Margate. I would often visit Margate as a youngster as my grandparents lived in Birchington, which is a short distance away. I have fond memories of the beach, arcades, shops and of course, Dreamland. But what I visited today was a dark, run down mess. What was once an entire beach length of arcades is now metal shutters and boarded up windows with a few arcades and gift shops making a little bit of money off the tourists who make the mistake of visiting.
Dreamland is 1/3 carpark, 2/3 concrete with half a roller coaster. It's just a wasteland.

Still, I came to take photos. And that's what I'm posting.

I popped into the Shell Grotto to grab a few snaps and get used to shooting in dim light.
I failed pretty hard... only getting a two successful shots. Everything else was either too dark, or too blurry. Ah well, its all a learning curve.

No need for a history lesson on the Shell Grotto, as you probably already know.

Photo time

A shot from inside the Grotto:

And another looking up out a skylight:

The next lot are around the arcades and the old wooden coaster in Dreamland. I read somewhere that a rejuvenation project is in the works for Margate's arcades and Dreamland, funded by British Heritage. There were some works going on behind the arcade and near Dreamland, but not a lot of work was actually being done.

The coaster was in two parts, with the middle section missing. It was set fire to years ago. This coaster was awesome to ride. It didn't have loop-the-loop or barrel rolls, but it was still a speedy ride:

The Dreamland arcade sign:

Darlington Square, an arcade of shops. There used to/still is a joke shop here. It was closed when I visited today, not sure if its closed down or not:

The joke shop in question:

Fenced off end of Darlington Square:

And some graf:

I'll go back for another visit sometime, as I didn't really get a chance to poke around much
That's your lot for now